Fast food and childhood obesity: Your Say Interactive

Kids' meals at fast-food restaurants have gotten an overhaul. Burger King late last month dropped soft drinks from its meals. That move came after similar ones by McDonald's and Wendy's. But will these changes really make a difference?

Data on childhood obesity suggest that any change eliminating calories from kids' meals would be for the better. Obesity has more than doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents in the past 30 years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Other alarming CDC statistics:

• The percentage of obese children ages 12 to 19 increased from 5% to 21% between 1980 and 2012.
• In 2012, more than a third of children and adolescents were overweight or obese.

This rise in childhood obesity seems to go hand-in-hand with the growth of the fast-food industry. By 1983, for example, there were 6,000 McDonald's chains across the country. But in the 20 years following that, the growth of the restaurant chain exploded with about 360 restaurants opening across the country each year, according to a Bloomberg Business report.

The majority of parents are OK with limitations on the sale of unhealthy food to their children. Just over two-thirds of adults nationwide (67%) support federal restrictions on food served in school meals, according to a 2013 Gallup Poll. That percentage jumps to three-quarters when parents of public school children answered the same question. And that support doesn't just apply to food sold at school. The majority of Americans (57%) also support such restrictions on items sold to children at snack bars, or small restaurants where snacks and light meals are served. (See the graphics below for more details. To see the graphics on mobile, visit the full site.)

Below, comments from readers on recent changes at fast-food restaurants, and the national conversation on childhood obesity in graphics. Make your voice heard in our informal polls and surveys.

Effectiveness of restrictions

Despite overwhelming support of federal measures to limit kids' caloric intake, nearly 40% of adults say that such restrictions would either not be too effective or not be effective at all.